Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth has acknowledged that the company is working on adding facial identification technology to its Meta AI glasses, months after Meta publicly denied similar reports.
Helping Visually Impaired and Memory-Impaired Users
Speaking with journalist Nicholas Thompson, Bosworth explained that the feature is being developed largely in response to requests from the blind community, who frequently ask the device to identify who is nearby. He also pointed to veterans with traumatic brain injuries who struggle with memory and cognition as a key group that could benefit. According to Bosworth, the tool would not create a broad facial database, but would instead recognize people the wearer has already introduced to the device, such as someone they met in person and asked the glasses to remember.
Bosworth added that the feature, which he referred to as solving “the cocktail party problem,” would only function while a person is actively wearing the glasses, and could help anyone who struggles to recall names and past interactions with acquaintances.
A History of Mixed Messaging on Facial ID
The confirmation comes despite Meta previously and strongly denying reports that facial recognition was being added to its smart glasses. Last month, Meta removed facial ID references from its device driver code after Wired raised concerns about the feature, with company spokespeople calling that reporting misleading. Meta shut down facial recognition on Facebook in 2021 following backlash over automated photo tagging, and has since approached the technology cautiously to avoid a repeat of that controversy. Bosworth’s latest comments suggest the company is now moving forward with the capability regardless of earlier denials.